10,000 People Petition Against Death Sentences in Tibet

LONDON, 25th June- On April 8th, 2009 the Chinese government sentenced Lobsang Gyaltsen and Loyak to death for their alleged involvement in the March 2008 protests in Lhasa, Tibet. A number of other Tibetans have also received harsh prison sentences, including: Tenzin Phuntsok and Kangtsuk (sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve), Dawa Sangpo (life imprisonment), and three Tibetan women in their early twenties - Penkyi (death sentence with a two-year reprieve), Penkyi (life imprisonment), and Chime Lhamo (10 years' imprisonment).

Chinese authorities routinely deny Tibetans their basic legal rights, and these trials were not conducted in accordance with international judicial standards. The Chinese government has responded to last year's protests with extreme violence, and these convictions are part of a widespread campaign to punish and intimidate Tibetans who dare to speak out against Chinese rule.

March and April 2008 saw the largest protests in Tibet for 50 years. A wave of protests began in Lhasa on 10 March 2008 and, since that time, more than 150 separate protests have taken place across the Tibetan Plateau, the overwhelming majority of which were non-violent in nature.

These harsh sentences signal an alarming escalation in the Chinese government's campaign to punish and intimidate Tibetans who dare to speak out against Chinese rule.

Students For a Free Tibet, as a result , carried out a 10,000 signature petition to condemn the unfair trial and the execution of Loyak and Lobsang Gyaltsen and many tibetans alike.

220 pages of signature petition was delivered to the Chinese Consulate in various parts of the world. In London, 15 people in white tops, symbolizing solidarity and mourning for the tibetans who have sacrificed their lives so far and contnue to suffer under the brutal chinsese regime, delivered the petition to the Chinese Embassy.

Photos by: Sheep

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